WP president believes ‘interference’ was justified with Mitchell

There was a lot of initial criticism but Western Province president Thelo Wakefield now believes his interference in preventing the franchise from appointing John Mitchell back in late 2015 was justified.

In a revealing appearance on SuperSport’s Phaka rugby show, the controversial administrator cited Mitchell’s departure from the Bulls on Tuesday as ammunition for his stance.

Province had wanted to recruit the former All Blacks coach as director of rugby following Eddie Jones’ departure for England before Wakefield, with input from Lions colleagues, halted the process.

“That was the only time (I interfered in the recruitment process). It was because of the history Mitchell had,” said Wakefield.

“I just couldn’t see him at WP Rugby.”

Wakefield had apparently foreseen various problems with such an appointment, most notably Mitchell’s habit of not staying in one role for too long.

Indeed, his tenure at the Bulls lasted little over a year.

“After a year he goes away… and here we (would) sit, with the repair work to do,” said Wakefield.

Transformation was also a potential headache.

“We come from a very diverse province, the Western Cape. We have to transform. If you bring in a foreigner, he plays the game with whoever he wants to select,” said the 64-year-old, whose tenure as president comes to an end later this year.

For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.